17 June 2025- A case against two owners of the pitbull dogs that allegedly mauled a girl (13) has been postponed to 15 July 2025, by the Vryburg Magistrate’s Court. It is alleged that the victim, Remoratile Maphike, was attacked by the dogs of the suspects, Anneme Bam-Smith (42) and Raynold Izak van Niekerk (46), after entering the yard, to get to the residence, where they rented a room with her family.
The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen said, following the attack, Remoratile was taken to hospital for medical attention.
“The suspects were summoned and are attending court. The case was investigated, and then taken to prosecution for a decision, hence the suspects were summoned,” said van Rooyen.
“The law clearly states that owners are liable for any injuries caused by their dogs, and it is imperative that we hold them accountable to ensure the safety of our communities.
Setshwantsho: Bangwe ba ba latofadiwa, Bakang, Phenyo Katong le Katlego Mosimege mo kgetsing ya polao
Ka OBAKENG MAJE
18 Seetebosigo 2025- Kgetsi ya polao kgatlhanong le banna ba le bane ba kwa motseng wa Manthe, gaufi le Taung, e buseditswe morago ke kgotlhatshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la gompieno. Bakang Katong (32), yo o atlholetsweng dingwaga di le robedi kwa kgolegelong mo kgetsing ya petelelo, ga mmogo le balatofadiwa nae mo kgetsing ya polao, Thabang Lenyai (23), Katlego Mosimege (31) le Phenyo Katong (34), ba ne ba tshwarwa dingwaga di le tharo tse di fetileng morago ga go latofadiwa ka go bolaya Thabiso Mothibedi (35), setlhogo.
Go begwa fa ba ile ba mo teketa le go mo golegelela mo generateng. Seno se tla morago ga gore ba mo latofatse ka go ba utswetsa madi a seatleng a lekanyediwang go R20 000 le motsoko wa R600.
Sebueledi sa sepodisi mo Bokone Bophirima, mokaptein Sam Tselanyane, o ile a tlhalosetsa ba lekwalo-dikgang la The Guardian Newspaper gore dipatlisiso di shupa fa tiragalo e, ele ya di 29 Moranang 2022. Tselanyane are go ile ga begwa fa moswi a ile a siela kwa motseng wa Longaneng.
“Fela, go begwa fa balatofadiwa ba ile ba tswa letsholo le go mo latela. Go begwa fa go gorogeng ga bone kwa motseng wa Manthe, ba ile ba mo gokelela mo generateng, mme ba mo teketa go fitlhelela a tlhokafala.
“Go begwa fa balatofadiwa ba ile ba tabogisetsa moswi kwa kliniking ya selegae fa ba bona a neela mowa. Baoki ba ne ba tlhalosa fa go se sepe se ba ka se dirang go boloka botshelo jwa moswi, gonne one a setse a balelelwa le badimo,” Tselanyane wa tlhalosa.
Kgabagare, ka di 1 Motsheganong 2022, baagi ba ile ba bolotsa mogwanto kgatlhanong le balatofadiwa, mme ba fisa matlo a bone a le mararo mo tiragalong e. Gape, baagi ba ile ba thuba le go senya ntlo-maitiso ya balatofadiwa, mme ba itseela nnotagi.
Go begwa fa Katong a boleletse lekgotlha ka mokgwa wa tiriso ya lekwalo gore o ipona molato mo ditatofatso tsotlhe kgatlhanong le ene. Lenyai le ene go ne ga begwa fa a ipona molato mo ditatofatsong tsotlhe kgatlhanong le ene, fela one a fetoga mme a kopa lekgotlha fa a batla go fetola mmueledi wa gagwe.
Katong o tlhaloseditse lekgotlha fa Mosimege le mogoloe, Phenyo, ba ne ba sena seabe mo tiragalong e. Kgetsi e buseditswe morago go fitlha 26 Phatwe 2025.
Kgabagare, bosekisi le bone bo tlhalositse fa boitekanetse go ka tswelela ka tsheko, mme bo shupa fa bona le kgetsi e kwenneng kgatlhanong le banna ba, ba le bane.
18 June 2025 – The Select Committee on Social Services met on Wednesday received a briefing from the provincial health departments of Gauteng, Limpopo and the North West on their readiness to implement the Health Patient Registration System (HPRS) and action plans to address the findings of the Auditor-General.
During the presentations, the committee heard challenges persist within the healthcare system, including inadequate infrastructure, insufficient training of personnel, and issues related to the utilisation of technology in health services.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Desery Fienies said the departments highlighted that facilities are still operating on outdated systems and there is an urgent need for a comprehensive strategy to transition to electronic systems that enhance service delivery. Fienies said, according to the North West Department of Health, as of June 2025, the HPRS has registered approximately 3.4 million patients, with follow-up visits totalling about 10.5 million.
“However, only 101 out of 319 facilities are actively using the HPRS, reflecting a data synchronisation rate of just 16% for June 2025. The department said many facilities are facing challenges, including old system versions and connectivity issues.
“In Limpopo, the committee heard that implementation of the HPRS faces challenges, particularly in training and integration into existing workflows. The provincial department acknowledged the slow pace of training and the need for comprehensive support to ensure that healthcare workers can effectively utilise the HPRS,” he said.
Fienies further said, however, the committee members have highlighted the urgency of addressing these training gaps to enhance service delivery and ensure that the technology functions as intended. She added that in Gauteng, the provincial department’s approach to the HPRS has yielded mixed results.
“The initial rollout began in 2017. Committee members highlighted the importance of a seamless integration between various health information systems to enable comprehensive data management, which is essential for improving patient care.
“The Auditor-General’s findings from the 2023/24 financial year highlighted the need for improvements in data management and infrastructure. The North West Department of Health has developed an action plan to address these findings, dividing the plan into two parallel segments with clear objectives,” said Fienies.
She said the committee emphasised the importance of collaboration between provincial health departments and the National Department of Health to address these gaps. Fienies said the committee noted with concern matters pertaining to human resources.
“Members were informed of staffing shortages, irregular appointments and inadequate training, which were cited as major barriers to effective service delivery. The committee has called for strict adherence to recruitment policies and the implementation of consequence management to ensure accountability among healthcare workers.
“Members of the committee said these measures are deemed essential for building a capable and responsive workforce that can effectively utilise technological resources like the HPRS,” she said.
18 June 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development said it has welcomed presentations on the 2025-2030 strategic and 2025/26 annual performance plans of the Department of Small Business Development and the Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency (SEDFA). The committee said the presentations tabled three strategic objectives to be achieved by both the department and SEDFA by 2030, namely the creation of 3.8 million jobs, 3 trillion in investment in medium, small and micro enterprises and contribution to 3% GDP growth.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Masefako Dikgale said, however, the committee raised concern about the department’s incubators and intermediaries in the service value-chain to the medium, small and micro enterprises sector, saying that the department needs to monitor them closely and implement consequence management where there are failures. Dikgale said their position on incubators and intermediaries was informed by unfavourable feedback that they received from beneficiaries on the ground during the committee’s oversight visits to the Northern Cape and Limpopo.
“The department and SEDFA’s strategic plans are anchored in the 2024-2029 Medium-Term Development Plan of the 7th administration, which outlines three strategic priorities, namely driving inclusive growth and job creation, reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living and building a capable, ethical and developmental state.
“Accordingly, both of them will be contributing directly to strategic priority one, to lift economic growth to above 3% and reduce unemployment to below 28% by 2030,” she said.
Dikgale said the committee will meet to deliberate on the department’s proposed budget for the 2025/26 financial year, which is spread across four programmes. She added that, the names of the programmes are Administration, with a proposed budget of R199.9 million, Sector Policy and Research, with a proposed budget of R81.9 million.
“This includes Integrated Co-operatives and Micro-Enterprise Development, with a proposed budget of R489.2 million; and Enterprise Development, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with a proposed budget of R2.147 billion,” said Dikgale.
Picture: The Northern Cape MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene
By REGINALD KANYANE
18 June 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene said his department’s continued efforts are underway to ensure effective access to healthcare services, quality of service standards and responsiveness to community needs and efficiency in the system. Lekwene said his department works tirelessly towards improving and sustaining the ideal healthcare status of facilities throughout the province.
Lekwene further said this noteworthy move, as informed by the ‘Ideal Health Facilities Realisation and Maintenance (IHFRM) Programme’, aims at ensuring that all public health facilities meet specific norms and standards, which among others include suitable infrastructure, adequate medical and surgical supplies and efficient administrative processes for the provision of quality healthcare services to the communities. He added that, as part of the department’s strategy to monitor the implementation of this important programme, they have launched support visits to the Madoyle and Phuthanang clinics in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality.
“These are two of the six facilities previously identified by the department for the implementation of the Bokamoso Digitisation Pilot Project, which seeks to implement the provincial e-Health strategy, to enhance service delivery and to improve patient experience in our facilities.
“Over and above the rehabilitation and upgrading of the facilities infrastructure, the department has implemented a fully integrated approach for the provision of equitable and sustainable health services in public facilities,” said Lekwene.
He said factors such as health technology, management and personnel, remain an integral part of this important programme. Lekwene said that will ensure the facilities are able to meet the required level of care and ensure universal health coverage.
“In the last financial year, our department conducted ideal status determination for 159 out of 161 facilities. During the same period under review, the Ideal Clinic Status programme improved from 75 in the last quarter of 2024, to 84 in the first quarter of 2025.
“Five facilities achieved silver, eight achieved Gold and 71achieved platinum. A total of 41 public health facilities have been accredited by Office of Health Standards and Compliance (OHSC),” he said.
Lekwene said it is important to note that not all facilities have been assessed by the Office of Health Standards and Compliance in our province. He said the Ideal Health Facility Realization and Maintenance Framework and OHSC tool are aligned for all required domains.
“Furthermore, the department internally established the Permanent Perfect Teams for Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance Technical Working Group (PPTICRM/TWG) Committee.
“The purpose of this committee is to work towards improving our performance in attaining ideal clinic/facility status and its maintenance,” said Lekwene.
He said this will be done through understanding the ideal facility framework, periodic analysis of the ideal performance against targets, provision of strategic guidance to districts, lobbying resources from related stakeholders and making recommendations for additional resource mobilization based on the critical situation analysis of each district. Lekwene said the Centralised Chronic Medication Distribution and Dispensation (CCMDD) programme is continuing well with over 118 000 chronic patients registered on the programme.
“The aim of this programme is to decant stable chronic patients from our healthcare facilities by means of allocating their pre-packed medication for collection at the closest facilities identified as pickup points.
“It is for this reason that the department wants to ensure that patients access quality health services at their convenience in terms of choice and time. Following these support visits, the Executive Management will be visiting public healthcare facilities in the Phokwane Local Municipality to monitor the Contracting Unit for the Primary Health Care project,” he said.
Lekwene said this project is to test the implementation of the capitation payment model for primary healthcare through a proof-of-concept phase, which will be used to test NHI policies, systems and processes on the ground. He said the project also aims to assess the practicability and scalability of the designated elements for a CUP, while identifying opportunities for variation and enhancement before further rollout to other districts.
18 June 2025 – Two suspects aged 29 and 41 allegedly connected to the fatal shooting of an elderly couple at a shopping mall in Rustenburg on 14 June 2025, have been arrested. The suspects were arrested by the team composed of Rustenburg Detectives, Crime Intelligence, Rustenburg and Boitekong Visible Policing, Phokeng K9 and District Trio Task Team.
The North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh said their tireless work, led to the arrest of two suspects and the recovery of a vehicle and firearm connected to fatal shooting of an elderly couple at a shopping mall in Rustenburg on Saturday afternoon. Myburgh said the arrests is a result of excellent crime intelligence work in identifying, locating and tracking the vehicle that was used to flee from the crime scene.
“The vehicle was traced, found and seized at Ndamoyi, Boitekong. Upon being questioned by the police, the first suspect conceded that on that fateful day, he was traveling in and driving the Kia Rio vehicle and that he was with his friend who was the one who allegedly shot the elderly couple before they flee from the scene.
“He then took the police to Rustenburg East, where his accomplice is staying. Upon arrival, the police found the second person who showed them a pistol. The suspect was immediately placed under arrest and the firearm seized.
“It is expected that the suspects will appear before the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on 19 June 2025, to face two counts of murder,” she said.
Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Major General Patrick Asaneng said: “These swift arrests should send a strong message to those who commit crime that the police in the province will relentlessly track them down and that they will have no place to hide.”
18 June 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) said the reports today reveal that disaster management authorities formally requested South African Air Force (SAAF) assistance for flood relief in the Eastern Cape, but no help was forthcoming until yesterday-more than a week after the floods began.
The DA spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans, Chris Hattingh, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP), said according to African Defence Review Director Darren Olivier, the request was made fairly early, but the SAAF could not respond due to a lack of available aircraft and flight crews. Hattingh said the DA condemns this failure in the strongest terms.
“Over 90 lives have been lost and thousands displaced, yet the SANDF only managed to deploy a single Oryx helicopter, days too late and wholly inadequate for the scale of the disaster. This is not an isolated incident. It is the latest evidence of a deep and systemic collapse in the SANDF’s operational capability.
“The same dysfunction was exposed during the chaotic withdrawal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What was once a foreign policy failure has now become a domestic humanitarian crisis,” he said.
Hattingh further said the SAAF, once a critical first responder during floods, fires and natural disasters, is now near collapse. He added that most aircraft are unserviceable, maintenance budgets have been gutted and key personnel, especially flight engineers are leaving the force due to poor pay and conditions.
“This is not just a funding problem. It is a failure of leadership and political will. The DA calls on Defence Minister Angie Motshekga to appear urgently before Parliament to account for the delay in deploying aerial support, despite early requests from disaster authorities.
“To disclose how many flight engineers, serviceable aircraft, and qualified pilots are currently operational. Present an emergency plan to address the looming flight engineer shortage that could halt air operations entirely by December; and explain how her department intends to restore domestic disaster response capability,” said Hattingh.
He said the people of the Eastern Cape were not abandoned by chance—they were failed by a government that has allowed the SANDF to decay through years of budget cuts, mismanagement, and political indifference. Hattingh said the DA reiterates its call for a full parliamentary inquiry into the SANDF’s operational failures and demands that the President and Cabinet take immediate responsibility for the dangerous state of our national defence capabilities.
“It is time to treat the collapse of the SANDF as the national crisis it is,” he said.
Picture: Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane
By OBAKENG MAJE
18 June 2025 – After reviewing the letter submitted by the Minister of Higher Education, the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has expressed concern that it was misled about the composition of the panel responsible for recommending appointments to the boards of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
The Chairperson of the Committee, Tebogo Letsie said the members said the information provided in the letter does not reflect the independence initially claimed, which raises serious questions about the transparency and integrity of the appointment process. Letsie said the committee has recommended that the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, appear before it alongside her Deputy Ministers, the Director-General, and members of the independent panel to explain the process and respond to the committee’s concerns.
“The committee said the names submitted appear to be an extension of the ministry and not an independent panel, as previously claimed. Committee members believe they were misled by previous representations made regarding the independence of the panel and the integrity of the appointment process.
“In particular, the committee finds the redaction or censoring of some panel member names highly irregular and unacceptable. Furthermore, the committee is alarmed by the revelation in the Minister’s letter that the purported Chairperson of the panel did not attend any of its meetings, which raises further questions about who chaired the panel meetings and oversaw the selection of candidates for SETA boards,” he said.
Letsie further said the committee has therefore requested to be privileged with all minutes of the panel’s meetings. He added that they will write to the Minister to inform her of their intention to summon her before the committee to provide answers regarding the SETA board appointments.
“We are extremely disappointed by the list we have received, especially after having spent the entire day on 30 May 2025, interrogating the issue of the panel’s independence. It does not inspire confidence when officials appear before Parliament and misrepresent facts,” said Letsie.
18 JUNE 2025- A former acting Divisional Commissioner of Crime Intelligence, Major General Nicholas Lushaba and current Chief Financial Officer (CFO), together with three of his co-accused, Warrant Officer Jonny Mogashwa, Captain Glen Hudson and Colonel Eugene Pitout (retired), briefly appeared before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on charges of corruption, perjury and defeating the administration of justice.
The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) spokesperson, Henry Mamothame said their matter was postponed to 13 August 2025, for disclosure and the provision of an indictment. Mamothame said this was as a result of an extensive investigation conducted by the Investigating Directorates Against Corruption (IDAC) into allegations of state capture and corruption within law enforcement.
“All accused were granted R3000 bail each with stringent conditions attached. Their court appearance emanates from an incident that started on 5 August 2022, up to and including 30 April 2024, wherein Lushaba reported a case of theft.
“It is alleged that he interfered with the investigation and falsely made statements about the incident with the assistance of his co-accused to avoid accountability for his conduct as a senior member of the South African Police Service (SAPS),” he said.
Mamothame further said the action of Lushaba with the assistance of his co-accused and their subsequent actions led to the closing of the docket in which he was a complainant. He added that this resulted in them being charged by IDAC on allegations of corruption, perjury and defeating the administration of justice.
Picture: Some of the drugs confiscated by the police/Supplied
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
18 June 2025- A woman (37) nabbed by the Public Order Policing Unit d-Platoon in Sunrise, near De Aar, for allegedly dealing in drugs. On 17 June 2025 at around 2pm, the police raided the house and confiscated dagga and Tik worth approximately R11 000.
The Northern Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel, Sergio Kock said the police also confiscated cash believed to be the proceeds of drug dealing. Kock said the suspect was arrested for Contravention of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992.
“She will appear in court soon. The police urge the public to share information regarding criminality to the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or utilize the MySaps app.
“All information will be treated confidentially. The police will continue to eradicate drug-related crimes in the province,” he said.
The Guardian 